


Lean on Me

by Mewo51



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-22 00:27:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16587194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mewo51/pseuds/Mewo51
Summary: Ruby struggles with the weight of  everything and Weiss is there to support her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to write a fic following the revelation and lore dump we got from chapter 3 and how it impacts Ruby. No chapter 3 spoilers, just my head-canon on what happens after. Its a White Rose fic that features both Ruby and Weiss’ perspectives because I really want Weiss to be the one to help Ruby through something like this. Its also angsty, but don’t worry because it has a happy ending. Enjoy!

It was a lot to take in. That much was clear.

And, Ruby was _struggling._

What now? That was a loaded question. One that terrified her. Not just because she didn’t know the answer, but because of how this impacted everyone.

Things weren’t the same. They could never be the same again. Its almost as though the stakes were even higher than they were before, and they were already trying to “save the world”. No. Now, not only did they face a formidable goal, but now that goal seems entirely impossible.

So, what exactly do they do now?

While Ruby can’t even begin to know the answer, she simply does what she knows best: keeps moving forward. Just like after the fall of Beacon. Just like after finding that ruined town. Just like after the battle of Haven.

Just…keep moving.

Which is how team RWBY, Qrow, Maria, and a severely quiet Oscar find themselves trudging through the barren snow laden landscape even after…everything. The air is tense and awkward. No one dares to speak.

For once, Ruby is thankful for the quiet. It allows her to think, to process, what they just experienced. Maybe it isn’t a great idea for her to be alone with her thoughts, but she’s still thankful for the quiet all the same.

Ruby thinks of her team, and how they follow her. She can’t help but blame herself for getting them involved in this mess. Here they are following her, and until now Ruby had been blindly following Ozpin.

Now, Ruby is lost, and so is her team.

When Oscar picks up his pace from the back of the group to walk beside Ruby, she can’t help the tension that immediately encompasses her. She can practically feel everyone’s eyes on them then and the tension increases.

“R-ruby?”

Ruby’s heart squeezes hard at how timid Oscar’s voice sounds. After all, none of this was his fault. He never asked for any of this. But Ruby can’t help how hard her voice sounds when she grunts out a “yeah?” in response.

Oscar flinches a bit at her tone, and Ruby instantly feels guilty. But, before she can apologize, he continues.

“I just…I wanted to say sorry. For, well…you know. Everything…”

Ruby literally has to force herself to not stop in her very tracks because of the absurdness of the apology. Instead, her shoulders slouch forward and she trudges on, determined not to draw attention to the situation.

All long, the eyes on her back never felt more concentrated.

“Its not your fault”, is all that she manages to get out. She tries for a cheery voice, but it sounds wrong, even to herself.

“Yeah, but-“

“Really, its fine. You don’t have to worry about me.” Ruby doesn’t mean to cut him off, but the words escape her lips is a flurry. She wants, no she needs, to lighten the situation.

When she glances over towards the boy she sees pain and genuine worry in his eyes. And it is too much.

Suddenly, Ruby is speed-walking. Outpacing Oscar easily because she suddenly can’t breathe. She needs some space. She needs more time to think. To adjust. To get ready to keep moving forward.

When she reaches her Uncle Qrow at the lead of their little group, she finds his eyes already on her. She instantly adjusts her gaze to the snow below, unable to meet his gaze.

Ruby vaguely remembers asking him if she could scout ahead to make sure the coast is clear. When he hesitantly agrees, pity and understanding coating his voice, Ruby is gone. A small flurry of rose petals are left in her wake.

She isn’t sure how far ahead she gets before she stops, but she knows that she has at least a few miles between her and the group. She is finally alone, and she should be able to breathe again.

But, for some reason she can’t catch her breath.

Instead, she is gasping for air, her hands clasping at her chest in pure panic.

Tears blur her vision as her knees begin to shake, and she vaguely thinks to how similar this feeling is. The last time she felt her body shut down like this was years ago, after Summer. _Her mother’s death._

She was having a panic attack.


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone was quiet, and Weiss hated it.

She wanted so desperately for someone to speak. To break the tension and deal with the situation. But, despite this, she herself was too afraid to break the silence.

So, they trudged through the snow, shoulders slumped, and scowls permanent. Weiss is vaguely aware of Blake offering to help Yang with her bike. Yang, of course, declines. Weiss would normally scoff at Yang’s stubbornness, but she finds herself more preoccupied with the girl in front of her.

Ruby resembles a kicked puppy, and Weiss hates it. Hates that Ruby, the girl with easy smiles and boundless energy, looks so… _broken._

And, Weiss hates that she knows exactly what is going through her partner’s head.

She is blaming herself, of course. Blaming herself for “dragging them along” as she would probably put it.

_The dolt…_

If Weiss wasn’t such a coward. If she wasn’t so broken when it came to comforting others, she would grab Ruby by the shoulders, force the girl to look at her, and demand that she understand that her teammates CHOSE to follow her. She would let Ruby know that there is nowhere else she would rather be than with their team, _with her…_

But, alas, she was indeed a coward. So, her lips remained sealed and she resigned herself to simply watching Ruby.

She watches as Oscar starts quickening his pace, walking past Weiss and towards Ruby. She watches as Ruby’s entire body stiffens as the boy reaches her side. Weiss’ body does the same, the image of an Ozpin controlled Oscar rushing at Ruby just moments ago at the forefront of her mind.

And, while Weiss logically knows that Oscar isn’t Ozpin, she can’t help but drag her hand to rest lightly over Myrtenaster.

Weiss silently glances to her other teammates and sees that their eyes are locked on Ruby and Oscar as well. Hell, even Maria is watching the whole interaction with obvious interest.

Weiss hears Oscar call out to Ruby, and internally flinches when Ruby snaps out a response. Her fingers unconsciously curl around her rapier.

Oscar apologizes, for what, Weiss isn’t sure. And Ruby brushes it off with a tiny huff. However, it is when Ruby attempts to reassure Oscar a second time that Weiss feels her scowl darken, her grip now white-knuckled on the hilt of her weapon as her agitation and worry reach a fever-pitch.

Ruby’s voice sounded so…wrong. Like the girl was attempting to sound normal but failing miserably to do so.

Weiss hated it and hated how hopeless she felt.

Then, when Ruby walked ahead of them, to Qrow, giving some half-brained excuse to go ahead of the group to “make sure the coast is clear”, Weiss instantly found her pace quickening.

Of course, before she could get as much as a couple steps ahead, Ruby is gone of a flurry of rose petals.

Weiss jogs now, to Qrow. Uncaring of how awkward she must look jogging in high heels through the snow.

Qrow looks surprised to see her, his eyes widening as Weiss fills the space beside him where Ruby had just been.

Weiss can hear Blake and Yang close behind, having also stepped up after Ruby disappeared. Glancing to them briefly, Weiss could see concern evident in their faces. Yang opens her mouth to speak, but Weiss beats her to it.

“I’ll go after her.”

Her voice is stern.

Everyone is looking at her now, and she rushes to continue.

“We shouldn’t split up. Its dangerous, with the Grimm hunting us and,” she gestures vaguely around them, “this weather.”

Qrow simply looks at her for a second, almost like he was judging her. Trying to figure out her intentions. After a moment’s hesitation, he nods.

Suddenly, Yang’s hand is on her shoulder and Weiss looks to her. Yang’s eyes are fierce, her mouth twisted in a scowl as she lightly squeezes at her shoulder.

“Go on, we’ll meet up with you guys.” Although Yang encourages Weiss to go ahead of them to find Ruby, its obvious from her voice that she is struggling. Then, a small, yet genuine smile filters her face. “Besides, you’re the one with the glyphs. If anyone can find her before she gets herself into trouble, it’s you”.

Blake nods in agreement, and Oscar, despite his sheepishness, nods as well.

Yang squeezes Weiss’ shoulder again, this time a with a bit more force, almost as though saying, _you can do this._

Weiss manages a small smile in return, leveling Yang with a look that spoke volumes.

 _Don’t worry. I’ll find her._

And, without a second thought, Weiss is gone.

Weiss summons a vast array of glyphs, propelling herself through the air at a pace almost rivaling Ruby’s.

A few minutes pass, and Weiss searches for signs of Ruby along the way. Her eyes following a trail of rose petals left in Ruby’s wake. Weiss thanks the Gods that leaving a trail of petals was a byproduct of the girl’s semblance because, without it, Weiss would be having a really hard time finding the dolt.

However, as ten minutes pass and Ruby is still nowhere in sight, Weiss begins to worry even more. With the snow falling more heavily now, Ruby’s trail of rose petals are beginning to become covered.

Plus, using one’s semblance for such a long time isn’t good. Weiss would know, because she was starting to struggle to maintain her own.

As fate would have it. Weiss would indeed find Ruby a short time later. However, nothing could have prepared Weiss for this moment.

She had expected to find the girl in a sad, mopey state of course. She even expected tears. 

But she certainly hadn’t expected to find Ruby in the fetal position, gasping for air as though the life was being strangled out of her.

Weiss was still about 50 feet away from the girl when she saw this, and, if she thought she had been fast before, then Weiss was gravely mistake.

Summoning one massive glyph under feet, Weiss propelled herself in a massive leap, the woods around her nothing more than a blur as she rushed to her partner’s side. Her eyes scanned the surrounding area, searching for what could have caused Ruby’s injury.

But, as Weiss scrambled to her knees, dragging Ruby into her lap with shaking hands, Weiss couldn’t see a single Grimm in sight.

**“RUBY!”**

Weiss’ voice was loud, cracking as her lips trembled lightly.

Ruby didn’t respond. She didn’t even react to the harshness of Weiss’ scream.

Dread weighed tightly in Weiss’ stomach.

Shaking hands desperately pulled at Ruby, trying to get a look at the girl to search for any injuries. But Ruby seemed paralyzed. Her body rigid and unyielding to Weiss’ pleading.

“R-ruby, please!” Weiss choked out, tears forming.

It seemed that Weiss might have gotten through to her partner in that moment, because Ruby’s right hand is suddenly on Weiss’ wrist, her grip tight and white-knuckled.

“Ruby, are you-“

“I-I can’t.” Ruby gasped out, almost as though in pain. “I can’t. I can’t. I-“

A powerful gasp for air interrupts her then, and Weiss’ chest aches at the pure, terrified pain in her voice.

Ruby continues gasping, her hand still wrapped tightly around Weiss’ wrist in an iron grip, and Weiss finally connects the dots.

She finally gets it.

Ruby is having a panic attack.

Weiss’ eyes widen at the realization, tears falling freely from her eyes now. She bends down, wrapping her free arm around the fragile girl beneath her in an awkward embrace.

Weiss knows from experience that one cannot simply stop a panic attack. They can only ride it out, let it flow out of one’s system.

So, Weiss sits there. Her trembling fingers are gentle as she cards them through the red locks of Ruby’s hair, all the while whispering reassurances into Ruby’s ear. Ruby shakes in her grasp, her body still racking as she tries to catch her breath.

Weiss isn’t entirely sure how long they sit there. She is too focused on Ruby to really care, despite the way the cold snow pricks at her legs and numbs her. Weiss just hopes that the others don’t show up anytime soon because Ruby is probably already going to kick herself for allowing Weiss to see her like this.

Seconds tick by, flowing into minutes and slowly, over time, Weiss can feel Ruby start to come back to her.

It starts with Ruby’s tight grip at her wrist loosening. Then, her shoulders stop their violent shaking. Weiss then begins to hear the girl finally catch her breath, no longer struggling to get air into her lungs.

And then-

“W-weiss?”

Ruby’s voice sounds so small in that moment, and it breaks Weiss’ heart all over again. Gently removing her wrist from Ruby’s grasp, Weiss instead wraps it around the girl to better embrace her.

“You’re okay. I’m here.” Weiss gently murmurs into Ruby’s ear.

“I-I’m sorry, I- “

**“Don’t- “**

Weiss’ voice is stern then, and she instantly regrets it when she feels Ruby tense up beneath her. Scowling at herself, Weiss tries again, this time in a softer tone.

“Don’t apologize, dolt. Its fine. I’m fine. You’re fine”

A tiny sob escapes Ruby as she wraps her own arms around Weiss’ midsection, her face pressing tightly into Weiss’ abdomen.

“I’m the l-leader Weiss,” Ruby cries against Weiss, “I’m not supposed to break like this. I just-I couldn’t stop it. I– “

“Break if you have to.”

Weiss’ throat swells full of emotion in that moment. Determination rooting deep inside to get Ruby to understand.

“You can fall. You can cry. No one will ever judge you for that you dolt.”

Ruby’s embrace tightens slightly and a small wet spot began to form on Weiss’ dress. Weiss pressed on.

“We are only human… You are only human.”

Weiss tightens her embrace around Ruby in turn.

“You have me-you have us to pick up when you fall, Ruby.”

Ruby sits up abruptly, just narrowly avoiding a full-on collision with Weiss’ face as she does so. Her face is red and stained with tears that kept flowing. Her silver eyes locked on to Weiss’ own, her gaze tired but analyzing.

“So,” Weiss continues, her eyes never leaving Ruby’s, “don’t ever apologize for needing help. Let us help, Ruby. _Please.”_

Weiss’ voice cracks on the last word, and Ruby looks down for a second. Her gaze directed at their now-entwined hands.

_When had that happened?_

“O-okay.” Ruby whispers.

Weiss had to strain her ears to catch her partner’s words.

Ruby looks back to her then. And, Weiss silently thanks the Gods when she finds that tears no longer fall down the girl’s face. Ruby’s eyes are clear in that moment. Understanding residing within them that has a rush of warmth rushing throughout Weiss’ chest.

_Because, Ruby finally understands._

When the rest of the group finds them just a few minutes later, Ruby and Weiss are waiting for them. Yang jogs lightly towards them, followed closely by Blake and Qrow. Oscar and Maria trail behind, giving them space.

Weiss notices Blake give them a strange look but doesn’t dwell on it too much as Yang drags them into a bear hug.

It is only when Yang pulls back and does a double-take at them, that Weiss realizes what had warranted Blake’s odd look.

Weiss’ right hand was still entwined in Ruby’s.

_They were still holding hands…_

With wide eyes and a furious blush, Weiss quickly untangles their fingers and coughs lightly into her elbow in a futile attempt to hide the red of her cheeks.

Ruby blushes lightly too but looks otherwise unbothered. Weiss envies her partner’s nonchalance.

When Weiss dares to glance at Yang again, she finds herself scowling at the grin she sees plastered across the blonde’s face. However, before Yang could embarrass Weiss any further, Oscar speaks up.

“Is uh, is everything…okay?”

Everyone looks to Ruby then, and Weiss silently forces herself against reaching out to grab her hand again.

Ruby takes a deep breath, eyes glancing briefly to Weiss.

“Yeah.” A small, yet genuine Ruby smile emerges, and Weiss’ heart throbs in adoration at the sight. “Everything is good. I’m good.”

And, unlike before, Weiss can tell that Ruby actually means it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed reading my angsty fic! ;P


End file.
